Three things for October 30
1. Netflix increases subscription cost
On Thursday, Oct. 29, Netflix increased the cost of its standard and premium subscriptions for U.S. customers.
The standard plan saw an increase of $1, bringing it to $13.99 a month, while the premium plan increased by $2, making it $17.99 a month.
This is the first price increase imposed on U.S. customers since January 2019.
Following Netflix’s announcement, their shares increased by 4.8% during afternoon trading.
2. Chattanooga state senator in quarantine after COVID-19 exposure
Republican state Sen. Todd Gardenhire says he was forced to miss a political fundraiser in Bradley County on Thursday due to quarantining after a possible exposure to COVID-19 on Tuesday.
“This has to be a FIRST in a political campaign,” wrote Gardenhire in a Thursday post on his Facebook page, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. “Had a fundraiser all planned up in Bradley County today, Governor [Bill] Lee was the keynote draw, Lt. Governor McNally came to show support, Congressman Chuck Fleischmann and a host of Bradley County and Cleveland elected officials were in attendance.”
Gardenhire says he attended his fundraising event via Zoom and encouraged people to continue wearing masks.
Gardenhire is the Republican candidate running against Democratic candidate Glenn Scruggs for the District 10 seat in the Nov. 3 general election.
3. Walmart returns gun, ammo displays to US stores
Walmart has returned all guns and ammunition to the sales floors of its U.S. stores after pulling them “out of an abundance of caution.”
In an email to the New York Times, the retail franchise said the decision was prompted by protests and looting in Philadelphia, sparked by the police killing of Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man with mental health issues who approached them while carrying a knife.
Walmart sells guns in about half of its roughly 4,000 stores in the U.S.
In June, Walmart made a similar decision to remove firearms from its sales floor during the protests over the killing of George Floyd by a Minnesota police officer.
“After civil unrest earlier this week resulted in damage to several of our stores, consistent with actions we took over the summer, we asked stores to move firearms and ammunition from the sales floor to a secure location in the back of the store in an abundance of caution,” a Walmart spokesperson said. “As the current incidents have remained geographically isolated, we have made the decision to begin returning these products to the sales floor today.”
